About Aire Craft
Aire Craft is a multi-day festival of free flight, street arts, and outdoor culture—where performances unfold across Rainier Trail and the sky becomes part of the stage.
At the heart of the festival is a simple but powerful idea:
to activate our public spaces and skies with live audacious performance, blurring the lines between street and sky, everyday life and performance art.
Inspired by France’s Coupe Icare and Festival Les Rias, and building on the rich cultural & paragliding history of Issaquah, Aire Craft brings together free-flight aviation, street arts, and community for a weekend of high flying creativity and acrobatic stunts at the Issaquah Community Center. A first festival of its kind in the United States.
Co-Produced by Culture Tug and Clown Garage, in partnership with Visit Issaquah , Northwest Paragliding, and the City of Issaquah Aire Craft brings together artists, pilots, and audiences to experience Issaquah in a new way—through movement, imagination, and shared public life.
Culture Tug, an Issaquah-based street theater and arts group, transforms public spaces with live performance. Our mission is to bring joy, playfulness, wonder, and imagination to communities by moving theater outdoors, elevating street arts, and making performance accessible to all. A recent recipient of4 Culture’s Launch Grant, Culture Tug is an emerging presenter and producer for innovative outdoor events.
Founder Mick Holsbeke started Culture Tug after his experience performing with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Teatro Zinzanni, Cirque Plume, and Le Fourneau, France’s national street arts center. Inspired by the creativity and civic pride street art sparked, Mick returned to the Pacific Northwest with a dream to create a regional street arts hub and signature festival that encourages the advancement of street arts by celebrating local identity, supporting artists, and connecting diverse communities.
Like a small but mighty tugboat, the name "Culture Tug" reflects our purpose: gently stewarding street arts forward in the Pacific Northwest.
Built Together
In 2025, Visit Issaquah, received a grant from Washington State Tourism to commission Artist Home to produce a formal feasibility study that identified the potential for a signature cultural event rooted in the region’s landscape and identity. It also aligns with the work of the Destination Stewardship Cohort Strategic Plan, which is reimagining how Issaquah grows as a place people don’t just pass through—but travel to, experience, and remember.
Culture Tug and Clown Garage bring the artistic vision & direction—activating public space through performance, play, and creative placemaking.
Northwest Paragliding brings essential expertise in flight operations and safety, grounding the aerial elements of the festival in decades of experience.
The City of Issaquah provides critical support and coordination with the Issaquah School District and local partners to ensure Aire Craft is building a sturdy foundation for the festival grow into becoming yet another beloved annual Issaquah event.
